Wednesday, July 2, 2014

World Soccer Cup

It's the World Soccer Cup 2014!!! First Belgium beat Algeria, then Russia, and then Korea. And then came the big game (for me): Belgium v. USA. Who was I rooting for? Belgium, of course. I kept checking Facebook during the game, because I just loved seeing how everybody in Belgium was united in one hope and one dream of winning. It was... kind of humbling.
And Belgium beat the USA, 2 to 1. I would have loved being in Belgium when it happened. The screams of joy. The parties in the streets. Everybody celebrating the big win.
Next up, Argentina. Wouldn't it be amazing if Belgium won the World Soccer Cup? Then maybe people would finally know where Belgium is. Or that it's a country. Haha. Although after last night's game, I'm sure they know it now.
 
 





Monday, June 30, 2014

Glo Run 5K

We did it again! Last year, Sia, Rachelle, Maloree, and I ran the Color Me Rad 5K. This year, we signed up for the Glo Run 5K, and a lot more girls joined the fun- Brittany, Kortney, Trinette, Krystee, Heather, and Emily. The night before the race, Trinette, Rachelle, Maloree, and I made tutus (it's kind of a tradition now). But this time we added glowsticks to make them even cooler.
 


We were decked out in glowsticks- bracelets, necklaces, earrings, glasses, and we even attempted to "mark" ourselves with the stuff inside the glowsticks (that's what Rachelle is doing in that picture).
Even though we walked the whole way, because Sia, Maloree, Rachelle, and Trinette are pregnant, we had a blast.



The not-pregnant girls

The pregnant girls







Summer fun in June

We love summer! I might not be that mom that has a summer schedule and does something new, fun, and exciting for her kids every day. But I do try to get them out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather that we've been having. Sometimes we just go on a walk at the park. And sometimes we just set up the swimming pool on the deck. It's nothing fancy, but the kids love it. Because when your husband/daddy is a resident and you have a budget, you can't just go to the zoo and the water park whenever you want, so you just have to look around and find simple but fun things to do that are free.
 







Father's Day

 
 
The kids might not know it, yet, but we lucked out on getting this guy! He's an amazing husband and father. He's kind, loving, fun, patient, understanding, ambitious, spiritual, and has passed down all his great genes to our children. I mean, look at them! And look at him! I'm pretty darn lucky.


LOGAN:
 
What is daddy's name? William
How old is daddy? 23
How tall is daddy? 23
What does daddy do for fun? He loves to go bowling.
What is daddy's hair like? It spikes me sometimes.
What does daddy do at work? He eats lunch.
What are daddy's favorite things to eat? Spicy stuff on toast.
What makes daddy the best? Because he saved the animals with his sword (...) and he is strong.
What does daddy like to drink? Coke, because he works hard.
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Going ice skating and bowling.


TAYLOR:
 
What is daddy's name? William Beeston
How old is daddy? 5
How tall is daddy? This tall.
What does daddy do for fun? He plays with toys with us. And he plays jokes on me.
What is daddy's hair like? It's like black.
What does daddy do at work? He exercises.
What are daddy's favorite things to eat? He likes spices on his food.
What makes daddy the best? Jesus made him.
What does daddy like to drink? Coke
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Play and sleep. And play hide-and seek with my baby animals.
 
 
KENDALL:
 
What is daddy's name? D
How old is daddy? 3
How tall is daddy? Bigger
What does daddy do for fun? He plays in the tent.
What is daddy's hair like? Black.
What does daddy do at work? He plays with kids.
What are daddy's favorite things to eat? Lettuce
What makes daddy the best? Me
What does daddy like to drink? Coke
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Going to the snuggy bear.

Kendall, just because

These past few months, Kendall has been letting me play with her hair and try out new things, so I snapped a few pictures of the results of my hard work. Can you tell she's got personality?
 




 

Fishing trip

We finally took the kids fishing! William has been talking about doing it for a while now, but this month has been pretty easy on him, so we finally went ahead and went to the pond. We didn't catch anything, but we still had a lot of fun. And the boys thought they were so cool...it was really cute.
 




Buck Creek

The first time we went to Buck Creek was almost 3 years ago, when we first moved to Ohio. I don't know why it took us so long to make the 40-minute drive to Buck Creek again. Maybe I was nervous to bring 3 non-swimming kids near water. I don't know. But one Saturday morning, we decided that the weather was perfect for a morning at the beach. And so we packed the kids' swim suits and a few snacks and jumped in the van. Notice that in the excitement of our trip, I forgot to pack the adults' swim suits. I also rubbed sunscreen on the kids but forgot to rub it on ourselves, resulting in sunburns for both William and I.
(Also, Kendall was completely fearless in the water, just like I was as a kid.)
 
 












Sports Summer Camp

After Taylor was "diagnosed" (not by a doctor) with "anxiety" (or whatever), I signed him up for a Sports Summer Camp. I figured it would push him a little outside of his comfort zone and force him to interact with others. I didn't sign up Logan for this because I wanted Taylor to get used to not always having his brother around. Tough love, I know.
I had been talking to him about the camp for weeks, doing my best to get him excited about trying out new sports and making new friends, but when we got there he stayed right next to me. I encouraged him to get out there and get the ball. But when someone threw the ball at him, he missed a couple of times, and I think he lost all confidence in himself and his abilities to play sports, or basketball.
Eventually, I had to leave, but I did so with heavy feet. My heart was breaking for him. He clearly didn't want to be there. He clearly didn't want to play with a bunch of strangers. And he clearly didn't want to be alone. As soon as I sat in the van, I started sobbing. Is tough love really the way to go? After 5 days of camp, I'm not so sure. I don't think this experience taught him to get out of his comfort zone or interact with others. Sure, he learned a little more about soccer basketball, flag football, baseball, and Olympic sports, but he came out the same way he went in-- alone.
It breaks my heart because I often felt lonely as a child. I wanted to play with others, but I didn't want to impose myself on them. And I think Taylor feels the same. Sure, I turned out alright and grew out of it (to a certain extent), but I also have many regrets (things I wish I had done). I don't want Taylor to have regrets, to grow up and look back on his past, wishing he had done things differently, and tried to do these things he so desperately wanted to do.
Ahhh, this parenting-thing... I'm still learning as I go... Taylor's favorite sport was soccer, by the way. And he got a super cool metal, for soccer.
 

 

 

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Memorial Weekend in Maryland

On the first day of our trip, we went to the local playground. The kids had a lot of fun, especially playing in the sandbox, which I never let them do because they always end up throwing sand at each other. But they've grown a lot since our last sandbox experience, and they played really well. The only downside was when Taylor jumped out and fell on his face. Fortunately, he recovered quickly. Later that day, we went out for a walk with the boys' scooters and Kendall's baby stroller. Within 5 minutes, Taylor fell and injured his knees and elbows. Then in the last 5 minutes, Logan fell and injured his knees and elbows. It was quite an interesting walk... Fortunately, we got to go get ice cream at The Cow and it made all the booboos better.
 
On the second day, we went to a petting farm. The kids got to pet goats and sheep, and look at cows, chicken, and pigs. When that was done, they played at the playground. It was all fun and games until Logan decided to climb down the curvy ladder, facing away from it, and slipped while hitting his head on the edge. I was pushing Taylor on the swing when it happened, and I was keeping an eye on him, but I saw it too late. I rushed to him and saw the back of his head bleeding. It was enough blood to freak me out because I knew that head injuries can be serious. Of course, he was freaking out, too, because he was in so much pain. I put a gauze on it to stop the bleeding. In the meantime, Marie was very reassuring and calmed me down. I hope I was keeping it together on the outside, because on the inside, I was thinking of all the worst case scenarios. Fortunately, after a quick prayer, the bleeding stopped, and we didn't have to take him into the ER. It also helped that Bon-Papa gave him a blessing. That evening, the injury bled on and off, trying to heal while Logan was... Logan. I was so glad that he was himself and kept playing. Although he kept saying he couldn't do this and that because his head would bleed. He actually tried to sleep with his head lifted off the pillow, because he thought his head would bleed again if he rested it on the pillow. Yeah, that wasn't going to work. That evening we went back to The Cow to make that booboo feel better. While goofing off, he tried to jump over the bench and got his hand caught and twisted in the bench. And he bonked the front of his head on the bench. He also almost tripped in the parking lot because he wasn't looking where he was going. WHAT A NIGHT?!? Needless to say, he slept great that night. Until Taylor woke him up at the crack of dawn. Because that's what Taylor does on vacation... he wakes up earlier than on school days. Yep.
 




No wonder he got hurt, right?




 
 
 
On the third day, Sunday, we went to church, where the kids were very well behaved and I got lots of compliments from everyone. Then we went home where Fred, Marie, and Luc joined us for some swimming pool fun... and water gun fight, of course. At some point, I brought out some blueberries for the kids' snack. It was funny to see that Luc hasn't learned the law of "Survival of the fittest." With no siblings around, yet, he doesn't have to compete for anything. It was funny to watch him stand back, then take one blueberry at the time, while Taylor grabbed hands-full of blueberries and stashed them in secret places, and Logan and Taylor stuffed their mouths full. That night we watched FROZEN, of course.
 




 



Again, what's up with his recklessness? Downhill. Really?



 







Luc gave me that look every time I tried to get a smile out of him. Little stinker.

Our last day, Memorial Day, was filled with water fights. It started off as an attempt to water the flowers, and turned into a full-on soaking water fight. Around lunch time, Fred and Luc joined us. Marie couldn't make it because of a family reunion in DC. That night, we went out for frozen yogurts, but Kendall couldn't stay awake for most of it. 5 days of no napping became too much to handle, especially since she got sick with a nasty cough on Saturday. Poor girl. When she gets a cough, it's a bad one, and it lingers forever.







 
 
Did I mention that Luc eats the best when Kendall feeds him?

What a cutie!?!





7 hours is a long time to drive to Maryland. But every time I get there, I realize that it is totally worth it. The kids love to be with Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman. We create memories, we have fun, we enjoy each other's company.
When we come home, I get a little sad because I wish we lived closer to family. I would love for the kids to play with Luc on a regular basis and to see their grandparents as much as Luc sees them. Maybe that time will come. Right now, the future is a mystery.